mixel

Yes, but the OP was asking whether or not paint makes a difference with regards to sound emanating from the lure itself. Sure, since this a bass forum, it could be inferred the OP was really wondering if the paint would make a difference in the lures ability to attract bass and entice them to bite. But it's not the question he originally posed.

absolutely paint can change sound because paint will change the surface texture. Ask anyone in the guitar world. however, the total deviation from the mean of a group of those same types of lures is probably minimal. only way to tell would be so set up some tests in a controlled environment, measure to obtain results, and then analyze said results.

My friends and I have three Hobies, two Mirage 13 and an 11, but we use them strictly for the ocean and not for fishing. All of them have the paddle system. The build quality of the kayaks is top level. I'm of the opinion you probably aren't going to find a better built kayak on the market. Maybe equal though. Really solid construction all around. Hobie seems to own the kayak game. Nothing has ever broke on any of them and we've had them for years now. The pedal systems are really awesome. Really good engineering and very heavy duty construction on the pedal gear mechanism. Great workout for the legs, more comfortable on the back, more relaxing, and easy to remove. The downside is Hobie kayaks are the most expensive on the market. Don't know if you looked at prices yet on the angler series but they are serious commitment from your wallet at $3k+. The other downside is because they are built so solid, they weigh a lot. I'm also researching for buying an angler kayak. I would say first thing you need to decide is whether or not you want a pedal-type system. There are only a few manufacturers with pedal systems and they add significant cost to the kayak. Your budget might determine whether you want their pedal system or not. Second, take into consideration the weight and how you're going to haul it around. They are not only heavy, but awkwardly shaped so getting them on top of the vehicle without banging into the side of your vehicle can be a challenge to say the least. We use my buddy's truck to haul ours around Morro Bay area, and it's so much easier than having to deal with putting the on the roof of my SUV. I really want to try Predator, Jackson, and some others but don't have any local dealers to check them out. I'm hoping they have a demo day this spring in Norcal where I could test drive things. See my post here on what you have to choose from.

Good reels. Start below. The scorpion has two more bearings, one bearing and one bushing per knob. The other difference is the paint. Shimano reels come stock with ABEC3 type bearings. Japan uses a different system. Some guys prefer to upgraded to ABEC 5 or 7. Read more below.

Can't be exact same mold as they are not offered in the same lengths. Also, if you look at the pics above, you can see some differences in the design. Look at the mouth. On the BPS, the mouth is filled in with plastic, while on the R2S version, you can see through the mouth. Some other key mold lines are slightly different as well. The eyelets for the hooks and nose also appear to be different sizes.

This is what Walmart does better than anyone. No doubt BPS takes a similar approach in leveraging their huge buying power to maximize profit potential. The original company may not have a patent on the design and if so, it's free game for anyone to produce it, or make something similar. Some of the River2Sea S-Wavers color patterns have two rivets in the tail, and some only have one. For comparison of lures, I've linked directly to the images below. You can see several differences in the mold pattern around the gill area, including the height from bottom of the horizontal midline, and where this line along the body meets up with the gill. Some other minor differences too. BPS XPS Boss Glide Swimbait (comes in 4.75" and 6.25" models) River2Sea S-Waver Swimbait (comes in 6.75" and 8" models)

GoPro really changed the world. It's insane how many industries that company has affected. Add to that selfie-sticks, and an entire generation of look-at-me kids, and you have a billion dollar industry. Then add drones and you have multiple billion dollar industries. For myself, I just want to fish.

I've got some experience in the manufacturing side of things. Companies take into consideration many things besides materials, labor, and R&D when establishing their prices. They also consider where they want to position themselves and their products within the market hierarchy which is typically ultra premium (special and limited edition stuff) premium (top of the line gear) prosumer (consumer level but with a few premium features added) consumer (average) bargain (dirt cheap) Now consider for a moment, designer handbags (Gucci, Coach, etc.) that women swoon over. Looking at just the material, manufacturing process, packaging, and shipping to get it to the store, does the expense come close to matching the outrageous price tag? Not even close. Companies also consider their competition, customer demographics, market trends, fixed and variable costs of the business, etc. Also, what RoLo said is spot on. Just look at how many lures companies have been acquired by Rapala. It's all about volume (the walmart and costco way). I've chased bad (from profit potential perspective) business ideas when I was young. It's beyond frustrating figuring out later that you could have put all that time and effort into something that was actually profitable. Trying to make any kind of real profit selling lures, when you consider cost of branding, marketing, manufacturing, shipping, and labor just seems like a poor career path, unless you enjoy it as a hobby, or have plans to actually grow the company.

My partner and I were in his boat working a rocky bank and we slowly trolled around a point. On the other side was a small sandy cove. And in that cove was a beautiful mid 20-ish girl, fully nude, posing in front of a similar aged photographer. Almost as if we were reading each others minds, my partner and I remained as quiet as possible for the same reason, to get a longer look before they notice us. They didn't notice us for a bit and then finally the photog looked up and scrambled to get a jacket for her. They hid behind some rocks until we motored out of there.

^Hahahaha that's epic!

This is exactly the reason I went with a simple JanSport. If you look at things from a manufacturing perspective, very few (if any?) fishing tackle specific company is going to be able to match the quality, durability, and design of a backpack-only company, even if their subbing out the work to a cheap backpack manufacturer which you know they are. And you can get a lot more uses out of the same backpack too, when you're not fishing. I used mine for overnight work trips, trips to the beach, day hikes, etc. Lifetime Warranty from JanSport http://www.jansport.com/customer-service/lifetime-warranty.html by comparison, this Shimano has a 1-year warranty https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-SHIMFSHSTG.html?from=basres I would consider Wildriver as they also have a lifetime warranty. I find products from companies that offer lifetime warranties are usually above the rest in their category. https://gowildriver.com/PrivacyPolicy.aspx#cservice But the cost of the WildRiver is more than double from JanSport. Although it looks like they have some true innovative ideas, I don't need built in USB charging, LED lights and all that fancy stuff. Great looking backpacks thoough.

Spillway broke in Oroville, one of the best bass lakes in all of CA. The area below is called Thermalito overlfow and it also has big bass. Going to be a muddy mess for a while. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Damage-to-Oroville-Dam-spillway-grows-with-water-10924251.php Turning out to be a record winter for California. One to remember for a lifetime for sure.

Been using a cheap 20yr old JanSport backpack guaranteed for life. Been holding up brilliantly. It's durable, has a large zip radius for the main compartment, a medium size pack which fits all my plastics in their original bags, and side pockets which carry smaller misc things. I am able to take four Plano 3700 series boxes which is all I need. And it's washable.

Post a link of the pond if it's not some secret fishing hole, which it doesn't sound like it is from your catch ratio. Does it have a name?

To remind myself, life is not about work. It's about the experience.

I've nearly flipped in the ocean but am very comfortable swimming in big wave 10'+ conditions and strong rip currents. The real problem however is as you mentioned, the cold water which can shut a body down fast, especially if you are already fatigued from being out for a while. My personal best in 52d water is swimming for about 1 hour, constantly moving. Then my body and mind start to shut down. Not bragging but trying to make the point that it's extremely important to know your limitations. If you're fishing 40-50d water, you better know you're able to swim to shore on your own, in your clothes if you can't get them off after submersion. It's important to practice in calm water purposely flipping your kayak so you can experience what happens. We do this in the shallows of Morro Harbor and practice flipping the kayak back to upright position without standing, and practice climbing back onto the kayak, because there are certainly good and bad ways to try and climb back on. Take the time to practice. Of course it goes without saying to wear a life vest too. Also, if you are in moving water such a river, you should consider tethering your oar to your kayak. If you flip, hold onto the oar and your kayak won't float away from you. There are arguments against tethering and I don't personally use one but I consider myself a strong swimmer and I haven't tried fishing in streams yet. Read more here for ideas. Also, as Semper's story so painfully can attest, you should make every effort to tether or tie down all things you aren't currently using. You should be able to flip your kayak and lose minimal gear. Go the extra mile and be prepared for the worst situation. It will give you more confidence and assurance for when (not if) something goes wrong.

Only native to Florida I think, but I'm sure can be found elsewhere. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_crayfish http://www.bluecrayfish.com/bcf-faq.html

I should clarify. Not me in the pic and I would NEVER ocean fish from a kayak for exactly the reason you mentioned. Too many great whites on the entire coast of California. In Cambria, there have been several bumps on kayakers from the landlord (great white), including one guy who was unlucky enough to have the shark attack the front of his kayak. The jolt threw the guy into the water. Not long after the shark let go and left, while the guy climbed back on. But that is one of the types of kayaks we use for the ocean.

Doing research for a new angler kayak for lakes and streams, I found the amount to choose from quite confusing. So I compiled a list of manufacturers so I could more easily narrow down which one I want. Here's all that I found. I've also been comparing roof rack systems which I included at the bottom. Notes: In general, smaller kayaks are easier to maneuver, slower, and better for smaller bodies of water and rivers. Longer kayaks are more difficult to maneuver, more stable, faster, and better for larger bodies of water. Also consider weight and transportation. Heavier kayaks can be difficult to load/unload on top of vehicles. Kayak manufacturers and models built for fishing Diablo Paddle Sports http://www.diablopaddlesports.com/ Amigo Adios Chupacabra Eddyline http://eddyline.com/ Caribbean C-135 Elie http://www.eliesport.com/ Coast Emotion http://www.emotionkayaks.com/ Glide Sport Angler Guster Angler Renegade XT Stealth Feel Free http://feelfreeus.com/ Move Angler Lure Moken Hobie Fishing http://www.hobiefishing.com/ Mirage Pro Angler (pedal system) Jackson Kayaks http://jacksonkayak.com/ Big Rig Big Tuna Coosa Coosa HD Cruise Cude Series Cuda HD Kilroy Kilroy DT Kraken Mayfly Skipper Liquid Logic https://www.liquidlogickayaks.com/ Manta Ray Native http://nativewatercraft.com/product/slayer-propel-13/ Propel (pedal system) Slayer Ultimate Manta Ray Versa Board (standup paddle board) Nu Canoe http://www.nucanoe.com/ Pursuit Frontier Ocean http://www.oceankayak.com/ Tetra Trident Malibu Caper Prowler Old Town http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/ Predator - http://www.predatorkayak.com/ MK (Minn Kota motor) PDL (pedal system) XL (removable utility console) 13 MX New Loon Vapor Twin Heron Pelican http://pelicansport.com/ Sentry The Catch Premium Strike Viking http://www.vikingkayaksusa.com/ Profish Wilderness Systems http://www.wildernesssystems.com/us/ ATAK Radar Tarpon Thresher Kayak Rack Systems for vehicles E-Trailer http://www.etrailer.com/ Elm Bay https://www.elmbay.com/cargo-carriers/ Inno http://www.innoracks.com/ Malone Auto http://www.maloneautoracks.com/kayak-carriers.php Rhino Rack http://www.rhinorack.com/products/water Thule https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/sport-rack/kayak-roof-racks Yakima https://www.yakima.com/activity/load-assist

There are a lot of nice kayaks on the market for anglers. Tough to choose.

That's a good point sgibby, however I think the pedal systems are usually positioned far enough forward that you're not going to be standing in that area of the kayak. I could be wrong as I've never tried standing up in the kayaks I've used on the ocean. I didn't realize until right now that Hobie seems to have the market cornered on pedal systems. I don't see anything even close to theirs. So I guess wanting a pedal system would significantly narrow your choices as to which kayak to buy. http://www.jaxkayakfishing.com/articles/paddlepedal.html Some pics for feet placement comparison http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2d823b3127ccef011f65cfa3900000040O08AatmzRs3cNwe3nwE/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

I've used the pedal power systems in Hobie's in the ocean and I can say without a doubt, the pedal system stuff is AWESOME! However, knowing certain instances in bass fishing I want to be pretty shallow, they could get in the way. I've hit bottom in harbors and it's quite a pain when that happens. But of course if you're expecting shallow stuff, you can remove them and use the paddle.

and I'm in CenCal. You can't even cast close to the debris piles because there is a subsurface layer of debris floating in the water column waiting to snag any lure you throw. All kinds of branches, twigs and junk from creeks that have been dry for 10+ years. I would like to take a kelp cutter boat from the ocean and go scoop all that debris. Branches and logs floating in the middle of the lakes too as the current slowly moves them to the coves opposite the creeks dumping in. This spring I figured spawn might be all time conditions if the water level and clarity stabilizes. But a lot more rain is coming already (5 straight days this week!), and the snow melt in spring is going to be ludicrous, which means they'll be letting a lot of water out of the dams as new water starts to come in from the high Sierras. So I expect the water to fluctuate quite a bit all the way into summer.

It's been cold and muddy since November in California. We had record rainfall and snowfall in January and lakes and streams have risen at incredible rates. Water is so muddy, you can't see your lure beyond 6-8". I've been fishing a few times and thrown everything from top water to bottom jigging without a single bite. Been going with loudest, most water disrupting, brightest lures, and the whole spectrum to black, and not a bite to be had. Been fishing slow and steady too. Fish are deep, not active, and probably not able to see lures very well. I really wonder how good this spring is going to be because once the huge amounts of snow melts in April and May, it's going to bring even more debris on top of all the trees, logs, rocks, and other junk that has already washed into the lower lakes and streams. One local lake looks something similar to this in the coves.